Double Trouble: Lansing Sexton Eliminates Detroit Country Day Again

EAST LANSING – Lansing Sexton really knows how to take the sting out of the Yellowjackets.

The Big Reds sent the Detroit Country Day boys basketball team home from the Class B semifinals for the second straight year on Friday afternoon with a 74-59 win at the Breslin Center.

Almost a year ago to the day, the Yellowjackets lost 69-59 in the semifinals to Lansing Sexton. As a junior, Bryn Forbes dazzled the crowd in East Lansing with 17 of his 29 points in the third quarter.

Forbes was strong in the encore, but it was a total team effort that propelled the Big Reds back to the finals.

“We lost to a great team today, when a great team comes with their ‘A’ game they are tough to beat,” Country Day coach Kurt Keener said. “That’s the best basketball team we’ve played this year and we’ve played a tough schedule. They are playing like a team on a mission.”

Four Lansing Sexton players scored in double digits. Anthony Clemmons led all scorers with 21 points. Forbes had 19 and Jalen Hayes added 12.

Forward Denzel Valentine filled up the stat sheet nearly picking up a triple double with 12 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. The Michigan State-bound senior also had five steals and a blocked shot.

“They played very unselfish, that’s the greatness of Denzel Valentine, we’ll watch him for the next four years on this court,” Kenner said. “He’s as close to a Magic Johnson I’ve seen in my time here, just how he makes everybody on the court better.”

The four starters helped the Big Reds (26-1) take control early in the game. 

Forbes had 11 points in the first quarter and hit two 3-pointers during an early 14-0 run.  His second 3-point shot put the Big Reds up 16-5 with 2:29 left in the first.

In the second quarter, Hayes and Valentine went to work. The pair each had six rebounds in the first half. Hayes had four on the offensive end, which helped contribute to his team’s 11 second-chance points in the half. Hayes had 10 points before halftime on 5-of-6 shooting.

“We wanted to get everybody involved,” Clemmons said. “We wanted to get everybody a lot of touches.”

Outside of a couple of 3-pointers, the Yellowjackets couldn’t get much going offensively in the first half and went into halftime down 37-23.

“We played physical teams this year, but we hadn’t played a team that could match us man-for-man,” Country Day guard Reid McManus said. “That limited us on offense.”

The Yellowjackets (21-6) amped up its defense pressure in the third quarter to try and get back in the game. A steal and dunk at the end of the quarter by Jodan Price put Country Day within seven points at 52-45.

“All year long we felt we’ve won with our defensive pressure, these guys have no quit in them, they just kept hustling, trying to create loose balls, that’s all it was at that point – heart and effort,” Kenner said.

Lansing Sexton’s quickness and athleticism prevented Country Day from getting any closer.

Kenner pointed to Valentine as a big reason why his team wasn’t able to consistently force turnovers with its pressure. The Big Reds were able to quickly get the ball up the floor.

“They get the ball out so quick and go,” Kenner said. “Valentine is a point forward and he’s impossible to trap. He’s such a great passer, even when you get a double-team on him it’s tough.”

The Big Reds opened the fourth with a 6-0 run and a 3-point play from Forbes with a little over six minutes left in the game put his team up 58-45. Country Day woudn’t get back within 10.

“I have a lot of respect for coach Kenner and his program,” Lansing Sexton coach Carlton Valentine said. “It seems like year-after-year that Country Day is right there and that goes to coach Kenner. His 30-plus years of experience shows, he maybe doesn’t have the quality of guys he’s had over the years, but he gets it done.”

Valentine’s team will play in the finals for the third straight season on Saturday night at 8 p.m. against Stevensville Lakeshore.